Agenda item

To consider a report by the Family Hub Programme Lead.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills introduced the report. She updated the committee on the progress of family hubs across the county. 

The Family Hubs Programme Lead gave a presentation which outlined the purpose of family hubs, which was to bring together services which provide information and support services to a single access point. Members were updated on the progress of developing family hubs across the county, including working with the Local Alliance Groups, identifying locations and opening family hubs in each locality area. Family hubs were organised into a network, with a main family hub providing all services and network points where support is available with some services. Some family hubs were run through partnerships with voluntary and community sector organisations in local areas. The council was running a promotional campaign across the county to ensure that communities and families are aware of the support provided through family hubs. An online family hub was also available for people to access information virtually.

There was an extension to grant funding from the Department for Education for family hubs, so further funding would be available to the council for their continued development. The next steps for the ongoing development of family hubs were outlined.

The presentation is attached as an appendix to these minutes.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care said that they were also moving to a hub and spoke model and there were opportunities for collaboration with Children’s Services and the NHS.

Members had an in-depth discussion about family hubs and asked questions of the officers. During the discussion, the following points were raised:

·         Main family hubs were funded through grants for this year. Options for income generation from family hubs were being explored, and officers were waiting for further government guidance on family hub funding and support. Family hubs were linked to other transformation work through the Families First for Children Pathfinder which enabled future consideration of commissioning and joint commissioning with the NHS.

·         A member queried whether there was a north-south divide for family hubs and whether there were access issues in rural areas. In response, officers advised that the network model aimed to address access in all areas, however some families may have challenges accessing hubs in rural areas.

·         There was a concern about the lack of access to a family hub in Gillingham and Shaftesbury, where there was large, expanding populations. Officers advised that Children’s Centres were based in Shaftesbury and Sherborne, and they were looking for opportunities for network points or further services to be made available in these areas.

·         The council’s proposed budget for 2025-26 identified £1 million savings from family hubs. The savings were predicated on family hubs providing early support, which prevented children from going into care. Prevention and early support had a significant impact on the number of children entering care.

·         There was a concern about risks to voluntary organisations from safeguarding and data protection concerns. The Corporate Director for Commissioning would provide a single point of contact for safeguarding concerns.

·         It was positive that the council continued to keep Children’s Centres which continued to provide benefits.

·         In regard to staffing, the council was able to recruit well however there were some challenges from a national shortage of social care workers. Apprenticeship programmes were available for social care, youth work and family work.

·         The Chair encouraged members to join their Local Alliance Group, if they were not already part of it.

·         There was a need to ensure that staff and volunteers were up to date on best practice and training. Officers advised that workforce development training was available to voluntary organisations and the Local Alliance Groups delivered training through Children’s Services staff.

·         There was a communications strategy for family hubs. Hubs were also advertised through the health visiting service and midwifery, so information was given to expecting parents. Members requested further advertising for where hubs were located.

·         There was a need for timelines and milestones to track progress. Officers advised that timelines were available, however challenges included identifying the right place and ensuring that there was community trust in the voluntary organisations that run family hubs.

·         Co-location helped enable people to find out about other services and support that was available at the building.

The Chair thanked the Family Hub Programme Lead and officers for presenting the report.

The Committee supported the future development of Family Hubs.